Improvement in straw-cutters



fliufird Sintra itat-wi (titties.

L. SEARS, OF P'ERRYSVILL-E, OHIO.

Letters Patent No. 913,235, dated August 3, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN STRAW-,CUV'ITERS The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, L. SEARS, of Perrysville, Ashland county, State of Ohio, have invented new and 4useful Improvements in Straw- Cutters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clcar,-and exact description of my invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, forming part of wheels.

Figure 8 is an elevation of knife-bar arms.

Figure 9 is a side view of arms and joint, with connecting-rod and links offeed mechanism.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the lconstructii'm of that class of cutters for cutting straw, hay, stalks, or other like material, which has a revolving knife, stationary cutter-bar, and an automatic feed-mechanism for bringing the straw or h-ay under the action of the knife; said improvements consisting in the novelconstructionof tension-device for the upper feed-roller; also, in the novel construction of the cutter-bar, and in the novel mode of securing the proper position of said cutter-bar; these several improvements making the machine very strong and durable in construction and perfect in its operation, making it easy to repair when worn or broken, not liable to any derangemcnt from dirt, and of very easy and simple adjustment for different lengths of cut, or for difierent tensions on -the feed-rollers, or for different 'positions of the cutter-bar.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and arrangement.

'The frame of my machine is made of wood, in the general form shown, or of cast or malleable iron, if found desirable, and has the receiving-box B and discharge-box C, arranged as shown.

The side-plates D D are bolted tothe side-pieces A A of the frame, and are provided with the roller- These arms L are constructed as shown in fig. 8, the arms t i and knife-bed j, being so arranged as to allow-of the turning up of the nut on the bolt k, by which the knife K is secured to the bed j.

These arms may be secured to the shaftI by clampscrews, as shown, or may be keyed on said shaft if d esired.

The knife K is of the curved form shown in figs. 2, 3, and 8,'the several parts of its cutting-edges and outer faces being at thev same distance from the axis of the shaft I, and the spiral form of edge giving the knife a shearing cut. q

A heavy fly-wheel, M, is keyed on the shaft I, and serves to insure a steady movement of the machin- Cl'y- Y.

The gear-wheel S, on the shaft I, meshes into a pinion, T, arranged on the journal on the side-piece A of the frame, which pinion has tbecross-bar IV secured on its face, by means of two screws Yor bolts which pass through the slots e v in the bar W, and screw into threaded holes in the pinion T, as `shown in fig. 4.

In this cross-bar Wis secured the crank-pin X, which is secured in a hole at the end of the connecting-rod g.

This connecting-rod qis arranged to slide back and forth in the pivoted arm a, which is arranged ona standard, o, on the side-piece A of the frame, as shown in iigs. 4 and 9, and at the end of the-connecting-rod q are secured thelinks lr and s, by means of the bolt t, and these links'are attached at their other ends, one to each of the inner wheels l, of V` the ratchet-boxes I v and Q, on the shafts of the feed-rollers J and Us The ratchet-boxes are composed ofthe outer wheel P, of the forml shown iniigs. 2 and 4, on the vinner face of which is found the ratchet-teeth, as shown in iig. 7, and the inner wheel Z,'on the inner facel of which is arranged the pawl fm, together with spring n, by which the pawl fm., is forced to engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel P.

The outer wheels P and Q are keyed on the shafts of the feed-rollers, while the inner wheels lare vfree v to revolve on said shafts. Y

The feed-rollers .I 'and Uare composed of a central cylinder of wood or iron, which is .covered by a rubber or gutta-percha covering, w, whichcan be cemented or tacked on to the 'central cylinder, and which 'ei'eetually prevents any slipping of the straw between the'rollers.

The lower feed-roller U hasits shaft arranged in boxes O C, which are slid down to the' bottom of the grooves a in the side-plates D D, andare therel staf tionary, while .the shaft ofthe upper feed-roller J is'v arranged in the boxes b l), which are free toslide. up and 'downin the grooves a a. y

The armsd are cast on these boxes b l), as shown in detached plan in fig.A 6, and a bolt, o, is passed through a hole at the end of this arm d, where it is secured by jam-nuts or their equivalents, and passes dowrtthrough a`l1o1e in the fiange of the side-piece D, and the side-pieces A, into a spring, N, secured on the under side of the side-pieces A, where it is sc-V cured by jam-nuts, as shown in fig. 1.

rlhe knife-bar It is of the general form shown in fig. 3, and in detached cross-section in iig. 6, and is secured to the side-plates D D, by bolts y y, one end of one of said bolts being shown in fig. 1, which pass through the slots e c at the ends of the cutter-bar, (see'fig. 6,) and through the flanges of the side-plates D. D, down` through thesidepieces A A,.on the under 'side of which they are secured by' nuts, as shown.

An arm, g, is cast on the flange of the side-plates D, and a wedge-shaped presser-block, f, is arranged between said arm and the end 4of cutter-bar D, as shown in plan in fig. 6.

The nut h is arranged 011 a bolt at the end of the presser-block f, and has a bearing on a washer, which hears on the end of cutter-bar It, and the arm g, so that by tightening the nut h, vthe wedge-shaped presser-block f is drawn forward and the cutter-bar pressed toward the cutting-knife K.

From the foregoing description of the general construction of iny improved cutter, the manner of adjusting and operating the same is readily seen.

The straw to be cutis put lin the boreY B, and the height of the upper feed-roller J is so adjusted by means of the jam-nuts on the rod O, at the spring N, `as that there shall be a small space left between the rollers J and U, so that when the straw is brought up to said rollers, and they are caused to'revolve, the straw shall enter and he drawn forward between them.

'Ihe cutting-knife K is secured to the arms L L, with either` edge as the cutting-edge, so that as one edge becomes worn, it can be reversed, and the opposite edge be brought into action.

From the peculiar crosssection of the cutter-bar It, it is. evident that it has four edges, either one of which can be used in connection with the knife K as a cutting-edge, vand that in case its edges become worn, or in any way get out of their correct straight form, they can readily be ground up; the peculiar uility of the double T cross-section of the cutter-bar, consisting in thei fact that in order to true up the edges of said cutter-har, it is only necessary to grind away the ends of the Ts, instead of grinding down the whole face of the bar, as would be the case were the bar made of a rectangular cross-section, whereby a great saving of grinding is effected.

To adjust the cutter-bar, the nuts on the bolts y y are loosened, and the cutter-bar is slid forward or backward until the cutting-knife K will just cut past the edge ofthe bar lt.

The bolts y y are then tightened,.and the 'nuts h on the presser-blocksfare turned up until said pressers are brought-to hear firmly against the cutterbar It and the arms g g, which, as is readilyseen, will prevent any backward'movernent of the bar R.

'To adjust the feed-mechanism, the binding-screws which pass through the slots v 'v of the cross-bar W, of the pinion T, are loosened, and said'cross-bar is slid inte such a position as that the distance of the crank-pin X from the axis of the pinion T, shall be equal to one-half the length of the required cut of feed.

New the revolution of the pinion4 T, caused by the revolution ofthe shaft I and gear-wheel S, will ycause a reciprocating movement of the connecting-rod q, the forward movement of which, indicated by arrows in iig. 4, will cause a movement of the inner wheels l lof the ratchet-boxes I and Q, as indicated by arrows, which will cause the pawls m m, of the inner wheels L. l, to advance along the teeth of the outer wheels I and Q, `while the backward movement of the connecting-red q' will cause a forward movement ofthe ratchet-boxes P and Q, and consequently `of the feed-rollers J and U, as in this back movement of the connecting-rod, the pawls m m lock into the teeth of the outer wheels of the `ratchet-boxes, in-

stead of sliding over them, from which it isreadily i seen that the straw will be drawn up under the aetien of the knife K, and cnt into pieces ofthe required length. y. Having thus fully described my invention,

That I claim therein as new, and desire to secure hy Letters Patent, isl 1. llhe cross-har W, providedl with` the slots a v and crank-pin X, when used in combination with the pinion I, for the purpose of adjusting the length of' cut for the straw', substantially as is herein specified.

2. The combination of the ratchet-hoxes P and Q, links r and s, and connecting-rod q, cross-bar W, wit-h crank-pin X, and slots fu c, and pinion TI, the several parts Ybeing alranged substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. The standard o, with pivoted arm u, when used in combination with the side-piece A, and connecting-rod, q, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

4. The sliding arm, d, when used in combination with-the rod O, provided with jam-nnts atits lower end, and the spring N on the side-piece A, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. The cutter-bar It, when constructed with the double T cross-section herein shown, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. The presser-block f, provided with the tightening-nut h, when used in combination with the arm g, and end of cutter-bar R, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. The combination of the cutter-bar R, provided with the slots e e and clamping-bolts y y, side-plates D D, provided with the-arms g g, side-pieces A A, and pressure-block f f, with the tightening-nuts h h, the several parts beingconstructed and arranged substantially as and fox-.the purpose herein specified.

8. The combination of the shaft I, having the cutting-knife K and gear-wheel S secured thereon, pinion 'I provided with adjustable cross-bar W, connecting-rod q, with links e' s, ratchet-boxes P- Q, feed-rollers J U, and cutter-bar R,'with pressure-blocks f f,

-the several parts being constructed and arranged, with respect to each other, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

As evidence that I claim the foregoing, I haivche'rcunto set my hand, in presence of two witnesses, this 21st day of April, 1869.

Witnesses:

O. H. MOREY, Helmen L. Srnnnss L; scans.

feed-roller box b, provided with an l 

